Introducing Web Mapping to Writing Studies and Journalism Classes at the University of Minnesota Duluth

Micaella Penning
Research Assistant, GIS Specialist Geospatial Analysis Center
University of Minnesota Duluth
Presented at #NACIS2015

Transcript

1. Introducing Web Mapping to Writing
   Studies and Journalism Classes at the
   University of Minnesota Duluth
   Micaella Penning
   Research Assistant, GIS Specialist
   Geospatial Analysis Center
   

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2. Overview
   !  GAC Background
   !  Engaging cross-disciplinary faculty
   !  Goals of using web mapping in non-
   geography classes
   !  Examples of classroom activity using
   ArcGIS Online
   !  Conclusion
   

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3. Geospatial Analysis Center Mission
   To promote and facilitate the
   sustainable integration of
   geospatial tools and perspectives
   into UMD teaching, student
   curriculum, research, services,
   and operational activities
   

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4. Wildfires by Cause and Size, 2012
   

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5. Hurricane Andrew, 1992
   •  28,066  homes  destroyed  
   •  107,380  homes  damaged  
   •  250,000,000  people  homeless  
   •  700,000  evacuated  
   •  32-­‐44  deaths  
   •  $43  billion  in  losses  
   

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6. In addition to giving the students a great picture
   of opportunities for storytelling, you also gave
   me some ideas for projects…I think there could
   be some real cross-over appeal between the
   journalism and GIS programs [at UMD]…Visual
   Journalism and Data Journalism are two
   subsectors of the industry that are actually
   hiring right now… Having this resource for
   students in the journalism program has allowed
   us to expand and modernize our curriculum to
   match industry demands…It would be great to
   figure out even more ways to get our journalism
   students exposed to GIS.
   - Chris Etheridge, UMD Instructor of Journalism
   

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11. “How did the ArcGIS project affect
    your reading of the text How Writing
    Came About?”
    “What were you able to show or
    explain through the use of ArcGIS that
    you would not be able to do through
    writing alone?”
    Goals for Non-Geography Students
    

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12. As a class, we were lucky enough to not
    only be introduced to this remarkable,
    functional program, but be educated on
    how to use it at the same time…By
    mapping several settlements throughout
    the Middle East and associating a specific
    token type, either complex or simple,
    with each settlement, it not only
    displayed where each token type was
    concentrated, but also sparked the idea
    of possible trade routes between the
    sites, depending on token type. Without
    mapping, this idea and thought would not
    have been possible.
    - Writing Studies student
    

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13. I found that when reading the more
    foreign city names in the text, I would
    simply just skip over them. The ArcGIS
    project gave more value to the name of
    the city rather than just a name.
    - Writing Studies student
    

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14. Conclusion
    !  Students in from a range of majors – English to
    Neuroscience – learned about the power and potential
    of web mapping
    !  Students gained both hands-on experience and learned
    how GIS and web mapping are being used in writing and
    journalism
    !  Potential to spark new interest was created, as they
    move forward in their education and work
    !  Students were introduced the possibilities resulting
    from both spatial thinking and spatial problem solving
    

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